Mississippi buys more land on Cat Island

In May, the state bought 109 acres from a private landowner, and the state has purchased another 117 acres. The purchases were mostly funded by federal grants and federal settlement funding which had been dedicated to purchasing the land. Officials say the price tag for the two purchases was $8 million, with some $528,000 out of the state's Tidelands funds.

The Sun Herald reports (http://bit.ly/1cJsdP2 ) some $4.9 million was from federal oil spill settlement funds and $1.2 million comes from Federal Coastal and Estuarine Land Conservation Program.

Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann says the purchases are another significant step toward preserving Cat Island for public use.